Neither have I room to speak of our private
schools. What I have to say is about public schools--those much-abused
and much-belauded institutions peculiar to England. So we must hurry
through Master Tom's year at a private school as fast as we can.
It was a fair average specimen, kept by a gentleman, with another
gentleman as second master; but it was little enough of the real work
they did--merely coming into school when lessons were prepared and all
ready to be heard. The whole discipline of the school out of lesson
hours was in the hands of the two ushers, one of whom was always with
the boys in their playground, in the school, at meals--in fact, at all
times and every where, till they were fairly in bed at night.
Now the theory of private schools is (or was) constant supervision out
of school--therein differing fundamentally from that of public schools.
It may be right or wrong; but if right, this supervision surely ought
to be the especial work of the head-master, the responsible person. The
object of all schools is not to ram Latin and Greek into boys, but to
make them good English boys, good future citizens; and by far the most
important part of that work must be done, or not done, out of school
hours. To leave it, therefore, in the hands of inferior men, is just
giving up the highest and hardest part of the work of education.
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